Ladder pad



J. J. HUSSEY July 25, 1961 LADDER PAD Filed NOV. 17, 1960 as FIGZ INVENTOR JOHN J. HUSSEY fwfl? FIG?) ATTORNEY s4 II llllllllhh United States Patent 2,993,562 LADDER PAD John J. Hussey, Hudson, Mass. Frohock-Steward 'C0., 79 Beacon St.,

, r 7 Worcester, Mass.) Filed Nov. 17, 1960, Ser. No. 70,065 9 Claims. (Cl. 182214) This invention relates to a new and improved ladder pad, the general object of the invention residing in the provision of a pad member detachably mounted on the side rails of a ladder or the like, said member forming a cross piece which may bear against the side Wall of a house or other building when the ladder is erected so as to prevent the ends of the ladder rails from impinging upon the wall and damaging or marring the same, the ladder pad essentially being interposed between the ladder rails and the side wall.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a device of the class described having means for clamping the pad to the ladder rails, said clamping means having' a limited degree of rotary motion relative to the pad so that the ladder may be clamped but at the same time has an angular adjustment with respect to the vertical so that the lower ends of the rails of the ladder may be positioned at an adjustable degree of distance from the bottom of the Wall against which the ladder is erected; and the provision of adjustable clamping means for the ladder pad with respect to the rails as aforesaid, the same being easily manually tightened and loosened by the operator to firmly clamp the pad to the ladder while still allowing for the slight degree of angular adjustment which may be required for unevenness of ground, different heights at which the ladder is to be extended, etc.

The invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly set forth in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a View in elevation illustrating the device in FIG. 2 is an enlarged view in elevation of the ladder p FIG. 3 isan enlarged plan view of a part of the ladder pad looking in the direction of arrow 3 in FIG. 2, and

FIGS. 4 and 5 are enlarged sections respectively on the lines,44 andjees in FIG-.3. I

.Incarrying out the present invention, the same is shown asapplied to a conventional ladder having side rails 1'0 and 12 spaced in .the usuaLmanner by .the connecting ;The .pad itself comprises preferably a fiat member 14 whichofcourse can be. made of any suitable material, this. memberhaving .a. length greater than the width between the. rails 10.and 12-a11d mounting on one facethereofa pair .of alignedlaterally. adjustable plates generally. indicated at 16.. These plates are substantial ly the same and..are .provided with longitudinal aligned slots 18, 18 ,through. which. project fasteners generally indicated at 20, 20 for holding the plates in longitudinally adjusted position on the pad member 14.

- Intermediate the ends of each plat 16 there is provided a Q shaped bracket member; generally indicated .at 2215a secured to its plate at its closed end. Each bracket is provided with spaced outstanding legs 24, see particularly FIG. 3. The legs 24 are apertured and receive a cross fastener 26. This cross fastener is preferably a threaded member and it has a washer 28 at one end thereof and a head 30 at the same-end. The fastener 26 extends through the other leg 24 of the U-shaped bracket 22 and is provided with a loose collar 32, which bears on a washer 34, see particularly FIG. 5. At the end of the H v 2,993,562 Patented July 25., 1961 fastener 26 there is a wing-nut or the like indicated at 36 by which means collar 32 may be moved along the fastener as will be clear from inspection of FIG. 5.

Within the legs 24 of each bracket 22 there is provided an elongated U-shaped member generally indicated at 38 having legs 40, 40, the same being apertured near their ends for the reception of the fastener 26 as clearly shown. The two U-shaped members oppose each other as clearly seen in FIG, 3 and the rails 10 and 12 of the ladder are received in the opening between the legs 4040 and fastener 26. The washer 34 bears, on one leg 40, the other leg 40 hearing on a washer 42, see FIG. 3, this washer being interposed between the leg 40 and adjacent leg 24 of bracket 22.

The ends of the legs 40 of the U-shaped members 38 are formed at an angle, see particularly FIG. 4, as indicated at 44, thus forming bearing corners 46 and 48. Either one of these corners bears against the closed end of bracket 22, see FIGS. 3 and 4, depending upon the rotative or oscillatory position of members 38 with re spect to the fastener 26. This motion will be seen to be very limited as the members 38 can move only between the solid line and dotted line positions in FIG. 4, but this limited motion is suflicient to provide for an adjustable inclination of the ladder with respect to the wall against which the pad is abutted, depending upon the length of the ladder, the extension thereof, inequalities in the ground, etc., and the corners at 46 and 48 provide means limiting the swinging action thereof so that the pad is always presented to the wall generally flatly regardless of the relative inclination of U-shaped members 38 With regard to the brackets and the pad.

In order to clamp the ladder rails, it is only necessary to turn the thumb pieces 36 so as to move collars 32 to the right causing leg 40 in FIG. 5 to be moved inwardly to clamp the rail of the ladder.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not Wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is: p h

l. A ladder pad comprising an elongated generally fiat member adapted to be attached transversely to the rails of a ladder, a pair of elongated, longitudinally aligned plates mounted on the same side .of said member, a 'U- shaped bracket mounted on each plate, said U-shaped brackets including apertured arms extending outwardly away from the respectivev plates, a fastener extending through the apertures and between the arms of each bracket, a head on each fastener, a loose collar on each fastener, means, adjacent each collar for moving the same along its fastener, said collars each..being extendible through an aperture in a leg of the respective l J shaped bracket, a pair of U-shaped members each including a pair of relatively elongatedcfree-ended legs havingaligned apertures adjacent the freeqends of the legsthereof, the legs of each elongated U-shaped member being located withinand between the arms of its respective U-shaped bracket with the closed ends of the respective U-shaped members and brackets being spaced apart and oppositely positioned, said collars each bearing on one of the legs of the respective U-shaped member and providing a clamping action betwen the. elongated legs thereof when said means is actuated to move the collar inwardly with respect to the U-shaped brackets, the rails of the ladder being extendible through said elongated U-shaped members between the legs thereof and the closed end of the U-shaped member, and the free ends of the elongated legs of the U-shaped members terminating in transverse edges inclined with relation to the general longitudinal plane of each of the legs of said elongated U-shaped members, said inclined edges each forming at its ends a pair of spaced stop members, said stop members abutting the closed end in either of two closely related pivotal positions of the elongated legs of the U-shaped members in pivoting on the fasteners, said elongated U- shaped members having a limited oscillatory motion on said fasteners providing a limited degree of angular adjustment between the plane of the pad and the general plane of the ladder.

2. A ladder pad comprising an elongated generally flat member adapted to be attached transversely to the rails of a ladder, a pair of plates mounted on the same side of said member, a bracket mounted on each plate, said brackets each including apertured arms extending outwardly away from the respective plates, an element extending through the apertures and between the arms of each bracket, a head on each element, a loose collar on each element, means adjacent each collar for moving the same along its element, a pair of U-shaped members each including a pair of relatively elongated free-ended legs having aligned apertures adjacent the free ends of the legs thereof, the legs of each U-shaped member being located Within and between the legs of its respective bracket'with the closed ends of the U-shaped members being spaced from the brackets, said collars each bearing on one of the legs of the respective U-shaped member and providing a clamping action between the elongated legs thereof when said means is actuated to move the collar along the respective element, the rails of the ladder being extendible through said U-shaped members between the legs thereof, and the free ends of the legs of the U- shaped members terminating in transverse edges providing a pair of spaced stop members, said stop members abutting the bracket in either of two closely related pivotal positions of the U-shaped members in pivoting on the elements, said U-shaped members having a limited oscillatory motion on said elements providing a limited degree of angular adjustment between the plane of the pad and the general plane of the ladder.

3. A ladder pad comprising an elongated generally flat member adapted to be attached transversely to the rails of a ladder, a pair of plates mounted on the same side of said member, a bracket mounted on each plate, said brackets each including apertured arms extending outwardly away from the respective plates, an element extending through the apertures and between the arms of each bracket, a head on each element, a loose collar on each element, means adjacent each collar for moving the same along its element, a pair of U-shaped members each including a pair of relatively elongated free-ended legs having alignedapertures adjacent the free ends of the legs thereof, the legs of each U-shaped member being located within and between the legs of its respective bracket with the closed ends of the U-shaped members being spaced from the brackets, said collars each bearing on one of the legs of the respective U-shaped member and providing a clamping action between the elongated legs thereof when said means is actuated to move the collar along the respective element, the rails of the ladder being extendible through said U-shaped members between the legs thereof and the free ends of the legs of the U- shaped members providing oscillatory stop means for the latter in the pivotal action thereof on said elements.

4. A ladder pad comprising an elongated member adapted to be attached transversely to ladder rails, a pair of plates mounted on a single face of said member, a bracket on each plate, said brackets each including arms extended outwardly away from the plates, an element extending through and between said arms, a loose collar on said element, means adjacent the collar for moving 4 1' the same along its element, a U-shaped member having aligned apertures adjacent the free ends of the legs thereof, said elements extending through said apertures and said arms, the legs of the U-shaped members being located within and between the respective bracket arms, said collar bearing on one of the legs of ,the U-shaped members and providing a clamping action thereof when said means is actuated to move the collar inwardly along its element with respect to the brackets, the rails of the ladder being extendible through said 'U-shaped members.

5. A ladder pad comprising an elongated member adapted to be attached transversely to ladder rails, a pair of plates mounted on a single face of said member, a bracket on each plate, said brackets each including a pair of arms extending outwardly away from the plates, an element extending through and between each said pair of arms, a U-shaped member having aligned apertures adjacent the free ends of the legs thereof, said elements extending through said apertures and said arms, the legs of the U-shaped members being located within and between the respective bracket arms, means providing a clamping action for the legs of the U-shaped members, the rails of the ladder being extendible through said U-shaped members and being clamped thereby, the U-shaped members each having a pivotal action relative to its ladder rail, and means to limit said pivotal action.

6. The ladder pad of claim 5 wherein said last-named means comprises stops on the U-shaped members engaging the brackets.

7. The ladder pad of claim 5 wherein said last-named means comprises stops on the U-shaped members engaging the brackets, said stops being formed by the end edges of the legs of the U-shaped members at the free ends thereof.

8. The ladder pad of claim 5 wherein said last-named means comprises stops on the U-shaped members engaging the brackets, said stops being formed by the end edges of the legs of the U-shaped members at the free ends thereof, said end edges being inclined relative to the respective general planes of the legs, the latter being flat.

9. The ladder pad of claim 5 wherein said last-named means comprises stops on the U-shaped members engaging the brackets, said stops being formed by the end edges of the legs of the U-shaped members at the freeends thereof, said end edges being inclined relative to the respective general planes of the legs, the latter being flat and arranged generally at right angles to the longitudinal members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS France May 7, 1956 

